Mechanical Leaf Collection

The Mechanical Leaf Collection is a limited service designed to supplement yard waste collection in a few areas in Etobicoke and Scarborough. The Collection helps with heavy leaf accumulations and in neighbourhoods with roadside ditches to prevent ponding, flooding and road icing as a result of blocked culverts and catch basins.

Using specialized equipment, City crews collect leaves on the public road allowance, as well as the public edge of the roadway.

Etobicoke/York Collection

Round 1: Mechanical Leaf Collection is scheduled from Monday, November 6 to Saturday, December 2. Find your street’s collection schedule using the searchable list or map.

Round 2: Since the trees dropped their leaves later than usual, a second round of leaf collection is scheduled for selected areas only. This work will begin once the first cycle of mechanical leaf collection has been completed (approximately December 2). If there is significant snow fall, pickup will be terminated and any remaining leaves will have to be collected for pickup on your regular yard waste collection day. Find out which streets will receive this collection using the searchable list or map.

Scarborough Collection

Mechanical Leaf Collection is scheduled from Monday, November 6 to Friday, December 1.

You can help the City to clear the leaves by raking leaves that have accumulated in ditches and on the public road allowance to the edge of the roadway no more than few days before your street’s mechanical leaf collection period begins. Do not rake leaves onto sidewalks, the travelled portion of the roadway or place leaves in ditches, on top of catch basins or obstruct water flow in any way.

This year’s leaf program will consist of one pickup over a one week period. Please realize that we can only collect the leaves that have fallen at the time of your scheduled collection, which can vary based on seasonal conditions. If the leaf collection program is suspended due to an early snowfall, we will not resume leaf collection and any remaining leaves will be collected for pickup on your regular yard waste collection day.

Raking, blowing, placing or dumping leaves onto the sidewalk, ditches or roadway can create dangerous conditions for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, create flooding conditions on the road way and could delay emergency services. Raking leaves onto sidewalks and roadway is an offence under the City of Toronto Streets and Sidewalks by-law Chapter #743 (section 9) and could result in a $200 fine. City bylaw of­ficers will be enforcing the bylaw.

Your street will be cleared once during the program period. After your street has been cleared by the City, you can maintain the public allowance by collecting and disposing of leaves with your regular yard waste collection. Please place leaves in reusable, rigid, open-top containers or kraft paper bags on your regular yard waste collection day.